Method of flavoring and aging smoking material and smoking article manufactured using the same

ABSTRACT

An embodiment of the present disclosure provides a method of flavoring and aging smoking materials, the method including: adding a flavoring, which is diluted in a base solution, to a smoking material; and aging the smoking material, to which the flavoring is added, under constant temperature and humidity conditions.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a method of flavoring and agingsmoking materials and a smoking article manufactured using the same, andmore particularly, to a method of flavoring and aging smoking materials,which is capable of improving the favorable sensory quality andexpressing a differentiated flavor as compared to existing smokingarticles, flavored and aged tobacco leaves manufactured using the same,and a smoking article including the flavored and aged tobacco leaves.

BACKGROUND ART

The taste of tobacco during smoking is determined by various factorssuch as the composition of a smoking material portion, a filter portion,and cigarette paper. Basically, the taste of tobacco is determined oraffected by the type of smoking materials constituting the smokingmaterial portion (e.g., combustion portion), such as tobacco leaves orreconstituted tobacco sheet, etc., additives such as fragrancecomponents, and aging methods thereof.

Meanwhile, types of tobacco leaves used in cigarettes are somewhatlimited, and the contents of flavoring materials that may be added tocigarettes are inevitably limited due to various factors such as thelimited size of tobacco and some legal regulations.

Thus, in order to realize the taste of tobacco suitable for smokers'preferences and to effectively deliver fragrance components, a newmethod of aging smoking materials is required.

DISCLOSURE Technical Problem

The present disclosure is directed to providing a method of flavoringand aging smoking materials and a smoking article manufactured using thesame capable of enhancing the taste and flavor of tobacco.

Objectives of the present disclosure are not limited to theabove-mentioned objective, and other unmentioned objectives should beclearly understood by those of ordinary skill in the art to which thepresent disclosure pertains from the description below.

Technical Solution

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a method of flavoringand aging smoking materials for constituting at least a portion of asmoking material portion of a smoking article, the method including:adding a flavoring, which is diluted in a base solution, to a smokingmaterial; and aging the flavored smoking material under constanttemperature and humidity conditions.

In the adding of the flavoring, a sum of weight of the flavoring andweight of the base solution may be in a range of 1% to 20% of the totalweight of the smoking material. Specifically, the weight of theflavoring and the weight of the base solution may each be in a range of1% to 10% of the total weight of the smoking material.

Meanwhile, the method of flavoring and aging smoking materials mayfurther include, between the adding of the flavoring and the aging,adjusting the moisture of the flavored smoking material so that themoisture of the flavored smoking material is in a range of 15 wt % to 35wt %.

The aging may be performed for a period in a range of 7 days to 25 daysunder a condition of an internal temperature in a range of 60° C. to 80°C. and an internal relative humidity in a range of 20% to 40%.

In some embodiments, the smoking material may be tobacco leaves in whicha total sugar content is in a range of 20 wt % to 40 wt %.

Also, in some embodiments, the flavoring may include at least one of avanilla concentrate, a chocolate concentrate, maple syrup, a dried pruneconcentrate, a cocoa concentrate, a pine flavoring liquid, a cinnamonflavoring liquid, and a red wine flavoring liquid. More specifically,the flavoring may be the vanilla concentrate, and the base solution maybe alcohol. Alternatively, the flavoring may be the chocolateconcentrate, and the base solution may be water.

The method of flavoring and aging smoking materials may further include:preconditioning the smoking material which is aged after the flavoringis added thereto; primarily moisturizing the preconditioned smokingmaterial by adding at least one of propylene glycol and glycerinthereto; cutting the primarily-moisturized smoking material; drying thecut smoking material; and secondarily moisturizing the dried smokingmaterial by adding at least one of the propylene glycol and the glycerinthereto.

Here, the preconditioning may be performed at a temperature in a rangeof 90° C. to 110° C., the drying may be performed at a temperature in arange of 100° C. to 120° C., and the weight of the propylene glycoladded in the primary moisturizing may be smaller than the weight of theglycerin added in the primary moisturizing, and the weight of thepropylene glycol added in the secondary moisturizing may be larger thanthe weight of the glycerin added in the secondary moisturizing.

Some embodiments of the present disclosure provide flavored and agedtobacco leaves for constituting at least a portion of a smoking materialportion of a smoking article that are made using the above-describedflavoring and aging method.

Also, some embodiments of the present disclosure provide a smokingarticle including: a smoking material portion of which at least aportion is filled with the flavored and aged tobacco leaves; and afilter portion disposed downstream of the smoking material portion.

In some embodiments, the smoking material portion may be filled with amixture of 15 wt % to 35 wt % of the flavored and aged tobacco leaves, 5wt % to 25 wt % of tobacco leaves that are not flavored or aged, 15 wt %to 35 wt % of toasted tobacco leaves, 1 wt % to 20 wt % of reconstitutedtobacco leaves, and 15 wt % to 35 wt % of expanded tobacco midribs.

Advantageous Effects

According to a method of flavoring and aging smoking materials accordingto embodiments of the present disclosure, differentiated flavorcharacteristics can be imparted to a smoking material, and a smokingarticle with excellent flavor persistence and enhanced overall tobaccotaste can be provided.

Also, by maximizing a flavor expressing property of a flavoringcomponent that is added during flavoring and aging of a smokingmaterial, irritation and off-taste that may occur during smoking can bereduced.

DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a flowchart exemplarily illustrating a method of flavoring andaging smoking materials according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an exemplary configuration of a smokingarticle including tobacco leaves that are flavored and aged according tosome embodiments of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a comparison of results of sensoryevaluation of smoking articles manufactured according to examples andcomparative examples.

MODES OF THE INVENTION

Hereinafter, preferred embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.Advantages and features of the present disclosure and methods ofachieving the same should become clear with embodiments described indetail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. However, thetechnical spirit of the present disclosure is not limited to thefollowing embodiments and may be implemented in various different forms.The embodiments make the technical spirit of the present disclosurecomplete and are provided to completely inform those of ordinary skillin the art to which the present disclosure pertains of the scope of thepresent disclosure. The technical spirit of the present disclosure isdefined only by the scope of the claims.

In assigning reference numerals to components of each drawing, it shouldbe noted that the same reference numerals are assigned to the samecomponents as much as possible even when the components are illustratedin different drawings. Also, in describing the present disclosure, whendetailed description of a known related configuration or function isdeemed as having the possibility of obscuring the gist of the presentdisclosure, the detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Unless otherwise defined, all terms including technical or scientificterms used herein have the same meaning as commonly understood by thoseof ordinary skill in the art to which the present disclosure pertains.Terms defined in commonly used dictionaries should not be construed inan idealized or overly formal sense unless expressly so defined herein.Terms used in the following embodiments are for describing theembodiments and are not intended to limit the present disclosure. In thefollowing embodiments, a singular expression includes a pluralexpression unless the context clearly indicates otherwise.

Also, in describing components of the present disclosure, terms such asfirst, second, A, B, (a), and (b) may be used. Such terms are only usedfor distinguishing one component from another component, and theessence, order, sequence, or the like of the corresponding component isnot limited by the terms. In a case in which a certain component isdescribed as being “connected,” “coupled,” or “linked” to anothercomponent, it should be understood that, although the component may bedirectly connected or linked to the other component, still anothercomponent may also be “connected,” “coupled,” or “linked” between thetwo components.

The terms “comprises” and/or “comprising” used herein do not precludethe presence or addition of one or more components, steps, operations,and/or devices other than those mentioned.

Some terms used in this specification will be clarified first.

In this specification, “smoking article” may refer to any product thatcan be smoked or any product that can provide a smoking experience,regardless of whether the product is based on tobacco, tobaccoderivatives, expanded tobacco, reconstituted tobacco, or tobaccosubstitutes. For example, smoking articles may include products that canbe smoked, such as a cigarette, a cigar, and a cigarillo.

In this specification, “smoking material” may refer to any material thatmay be used in a smoking article.

In this specification, “upstream” or “upstream direction” may refer to adirection moving away from an oral region of a smoker, and “downstream”or “downstream direction” may refer to a direction approaching the oralregion of the smoker.

In this specification, “longitudinal direction” may refer to a directioncorresponding to a longitudinal axis of a smoking article.

Throughout the specification, “smoking article” may refer to anythingcapable of generating an aerosol, such as tobacco (i.e., cigarette) andcigar. The smoking article may include an aerosol-generating material oran aerosol-forming substrate. Also, the smoking article may include asolid material based on tobacco raw materials, such as reconstitutedtobacco leaves, shredded tobacco, and reconstituted tobacco. A smokingmaterial may include a volatile compound.

Hereinafter, various embodiments of the present disclosure will bedescribed in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a flowchart exemplarily illustrating a method of flavoring andaging smoking materials according to some embodiments of the presentdisclosure.

Referring to FIG. 1 , the method of flavoring and aging smokingmaterials may include adding a flavoring, which is diluted in a basesolution, to a smoking material (S10), adjusting the moisture of theflavored smoking material (S20), aging the moisture-adjusted smokingmaterial under constant temperature and humidity conditions (S30),preconditioning the aged smoking material (S40), primarily moisturizingthe preconditioned smoking material (S50), cutting theprimarily-moisturized smoking material (S60), drying the cut smokingmaterial (S70), and secondarily moisturizing the dried smoking material(S80).

The smoking material which has been flavored and aged using the methodmay be mixed with tobacco leaves that are not flavored or aged,reconstituted tobacco leaves, toasted tobacco leaves, and expandedtobacco midribs and then filled in a smoking material portion of asmoking article.

In the adding of the flavoring diluted in the base solution to thesmoking material (S10), the flavoring added to the smoking material mayinclude at least one of various flavoring components, and the basesolution may be alcohol or water.

In some embodiments, the flavoring may include at least one of a vanillaconcentrate, a chocolate concentrate, maple syrup, a dried pruneconcentrate, a cocoa concentrate, a pine flavoring liquid, a cinnamonflavoring liquid, and a red wine flavoring liquid, and the base solutionmay be selected from alcohol and water depending on the flavoring.

Preferably, the flavoring may be a vanilla concentrate or a chocolateconcentrate. For example, the flavoring may be a vanilla concentrate,and in this case, the base solution may be alcohol. As another example,the flavoring may be a chocolate concentrate, and in this case, the basesolution may be water.

In some embodiments, a sum of weights of the flavoring and the basesolution may be in a range of about 1% to 20% of the total weight of thesmoking material, preferably, in a range of about 5% to 15% of the totalweight of the smoking material.

More specifically, the weight of the flavoring and the weight of thebase solution may each be in a range of about 1% to 10%, preferablyabout 2% to 6%, of the total weight of the smoking material. Theflavoring may be diluted in the base solution so that a ratio of theflavoring to the base solution is in a range of 1:2 to 2:1 (e.g., about1:1). For example, with respect to the total weight of the smokingmaterial, about 4% flavoring and about 4% base solution may be added tothe smoking material.

Meanwhile, in order to prevent degradation of physical properties oftobacco leaves and secure a yield sufficient for mass production in aflavoring and aging process which will be described below, preferably,the smoking material may be tobacco leaves in which the total sugarcontent is in a range of about 20 wt % to 40 wt %. More preferably, thesmoking material may be true leaves of bright tobacco leaves in whichthe total sugar content is in a range of about 25 wt % to 35 wt %.

In the adjusting of the moisture of the flavored smoking material (S20),the moisture of the flavored smoking material may be adjusted so thatthe moisture content therein is in a range of about 10 wt % to 35 wt %,preferably, about 15 wt % to 25 wt %, and more preferably, about 17 wt %to 23 wt %.

In the aging of the moisture-adjusted smoking material under constanttemperature and humidity conditions (S30), the aging may be performedfor a period in a range of about 7 days to 25 days at an internaltemperature in a range of about 60° C. to 80° C. and an internalrelative humidity in a range of about 20% to 40%.

Preferably, the aging (S30) may be performed for a period in a range ofabout 10 days to 18 days under the condition of an internal temperaturein a range of about 65° C. to 75° C. and an internal relative humidityin a range of about 25% to 35%.

The preconditioning of the aged smoking material (S40) may be performedat a temperature in a range of 90° C. to 110° C., preferably in a rangeof 95° C. to 105° C., and the drying of the cut smoking material (S70)may be performed at a temperature higher than that in thepreconditioning (S40), e.g., at a temperature in a range of 100° C. to120° C., preferably in a range of 105° C. to 115° C.

Meanwhile, after the aging (S30), moisturizing may be performed at leastone time on the smoking material. In the moisturizing, at least one ofpropylene glycol and glycerin may be added to the smoking material.

Preferably, the moisturizing may include the primary moisturizing (S50)that is performed between the aging (S30) and the cutting (S60) and thesecondary moisturizing (S80) that is performed after the drying (S70).

In some embodiments, in the primary moisturizing (S50), the weight ofadded propylene glycol may be smaller than the weight of added glycerin,and in the secondary moisturizing (S80), the weight of added propyleneglycol may be larger than the weight of added glycerin.

Preferably, in the primary moisturizing (S50), about 0.8% to 1.2% ofpropylene glycol and about 1.3% to 1.7% of glycerin may be added withrespect to the total weight of the smoking material, and in thesecondary moisturizing (S80), about 0.1% to 0.5% of propylene glycol andabout 0.01% to 0.05% of glycerin may be added with respect to the totalweight of the smoking material.

In some embodiments, in the cutting of the smoking material (S60), thesmoking material such as tobacco leaves may be cut into tobacco strandshaving a width in a range of about 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm, preferably in arange of 0.7 mm to 1.1 mm.

When manufacturing a smoking article using the smoking material flavoredand aged under the above process conditions, as will be described below,a composition of a flavoring component in the smoking material may beimproved in a more preferable way such that a smoking article hasexcellent expressing property and flavor persistence while irritationand off-taste are reduced. As a result, overall tobacco taste isenhanced.

The smoking material flavored and aged as described above may be mixedwith tobacco leaves that are not flavored or aged, reconstituted tobaccoleaves, toasted tobacco leaves, and expanded tobacco midribs and thenfilled in a smoking material portion of a smoking article.

Here, the tobacco leaves that are not flavored or aged may refer totobacco leaves on which the flavoring and aging process described abovewith reference to FIG. 1 is not performed. That is, examples of thetobacco leaves that are not flavored or aged may include raw tobaccoleaves on which both flavoring and aging are not performed, tobaccoleaves on which only the flavoring process is performed, and tobaccoleaves on which only the aging process is performed.

Preferably, in a smoking material filled in a smoking material portion110 which will be described below with reference to FIG. 2 , about 15 wt% to 35 wt % of the flavored and aged tobacco leaves may be mixed withabout 5 wt % to 25 wt % of tobacco leaves that are not flavored or aged,about 15 wt % to 35 wt % of toasted tobacco leaves, about 1 wt % to 20wt % of reconstituted tobacco leaves, and about 15 wt % to 35 wt % ofexpanded tobacco midribs.

FIG. 2 is a view illustrating an exemplary configuration of a smokingarticle 100 including tobacco leaves that are flavored and agedaccording to some embodiments of the present disclosure.

In this specification, the smoking article 100 is assumed to be acombustion-type cigarette. However, the present disclosure is notlimited thereto, and the smoking article 100 may also be a heating-typecigarette or the like that is used together with an aerosol generationdevice (not illustrated) such as an electronic cigarette device.

Referring to FIG. 2 , the smoking article 100 may include the smokingmaterial portion 110 wrapped by a smoking material wrapper 110 a, afilter portion 120 wrapped by a filter wrapper 120 a, and tipping paper130 configured to combine the smoking material portion 110 and thefilter portion 120.

The smoking material portion 110 may have the form of a longitudinallyextending rod which may have various lengths, circumferences, anddiameters.

The smoking material portion 110 may be filled with a mixture in whichthe tobacco leaves flavored and aged using the method described abovewith reference to FIG. 1 are mixed with tobacco leaves that are notflavored or aged, reconstituted tobacco leaves, toasted tobacco leaves,and expanded tobacco midribs.

Also, at least one aerosol-generating material among glycerin, propyleneglycol, ethylene glycol, dipropylene glycol, diethylene glycol,triethylene glycol, tetraethylene glycol, and oleyl alcohol may befurther added to the smoking material portion 110.

Also, the smoking material portion 110 may contain other additives suchas a flavoring agent, a wetting agent, and/or an acetate compound. Forexample, the flavoring agent may include licorice, saccharose, fructosesyrup, isosweet, cocoa, lavender, cinnamon, cardamom, celery, fenugreek,cascarilla, white sandalwood, bergamot, geranium, honey essence, roseoil, vanilla, lemon oil, orange oil, mint oil, cinnamon, caraway,cognac, jasmine, chamomile, menthol, cinnamon, ylang-ylang, sage,spearmint, ginger, cilantro, coffee, or the like. Also, the wettingagent may include glycerin, propylene glycol, or the like.

In some embodiments, the smoking material portion 110 may include areconstituted tobacco material which is formed in the shape of a rod orthe like by grinding the flavored and aged tobacco leaves, reconstitutedtobacco leaves, toasted tobacco leaves, and expanded tobacco midribs,mixing a solvent and various additives therewith to produce a slurry,drying the slurry to form a sheet, and then processing the sheet. Forexample, the smoking material portion 110 may include a plurality ofreconstituted tobacco material strands, and each strand may have alength in a range of about 10 mm to 14 mm (for example, 12 mm), a widthin a range of about 0.8 mm to 1.2 mm (for example, 1 mm), and athickness in a range of about 0.08 mm to 0.12 mm (for example, 0.1 mm),but the present disclosure is not limited thereto.

The smoking material portion 110 may be wrapped by the smoking materialwrapper 110 a. Glycerin and a combustion improver such as K-citrateand/or Na-citrate, which is configured to promote complete combustion ofa smoking material by catalytic action or the like, may be added to thesmoking material wrapper 110 a, and further, fillers such as calciumcarbonate, titanium dioxide, and magnesium oxide may be included in thesmoking material wrapper 110 a.

In some embodiments, the smoking material wrapper 110 a may have adouble wrapping paper structure. Specifically, the smoking materialwrapper 110 a may include an inner wrapper that comes in contact withthe smoking material portion 110 and wraps around the smoking materialportion 110 and an outer wrapper that comes in contact with the innerwrapper and surrounds the outside of the inner wrapper.

Also, the smoking material wrapper 110 a may be low ignition propensity(LIP) cigarette paper having one or more LIP bands (not illustrated)formed therein.

The filter portion 120 may be disposed downstream of the smokingmaterial portion 110 and may be a region through which an aerosolmaterial generated in the smoking material portion 110 passes rightbefore being inhaled by the user.

The filter portion 120 may be made of various materials. For example,the filter portion 120 may be a cellulose acetate filter.

In some embodiments, the filter portion 120 may be a cellulose acetatefilter not flavored with a flavoring material, but the presentdisclosure is not limited thereto. The filter portion 120 may also be atransfer jet nozzle system (TJNS) filter flavored with a flavoringmaterial.

In some embodiments, the filter portion 120 may be a tubular structureincluding a hollow formed therein. The filter portion 120 may also bemanufactured by inserting structures such as films or tubes made of thesame or different materials thereinto (for example, into the hollow).

The filter portion 120 of the present embodiment is illustrated as amono filter formed of a single filter, but the present disclosure is notlimited thereto. For example, the filter portion 120 may, of course, beprovided as a dual filter which includes two acetate filters, a triplefilter, or the like in order to increase filter efficiency.

Further, although not illustrated, a capsule (not illustrated) may beincluded inside the filter portion 120. The capsule may have a structurein which a liquid filled therein including a flavoring is wrapped by afilm. For example, the capsule may have a spherical or cylindricalshape. Materials forming the film of the capsule may be a naturalmaterial, starch, and/or a gellant.

In some embodiments, as a solvent of the flavoring included in theliquid filled in the capsule, for example, a medium chain fatty acidtriglyceride (MCTG) may be used. The liquid may also contain otheradditives such as a pigment, an emulsifier, and a thickener. A flavoringsuch as menthol and an essential oil of plants may be included in theliquid filled in the capsule, but the present disclosure is not limitedthereto.

The filter portion 120 may be wrapped by the filter wrapper 120 a. Insome embodiments, the filter wrapper 120 a may be manufactured usinggrease-resistant wrapping paper. In order to prevent the liquid filledin the capsule, which may be included in the filter portion 120, frompassing through the filter wrapper 120 a after being released to theoutside of the capsule due to the smoker crushing the capsule, thefilter wrapper 120 a may be manufactured using grease-resistant wrappingpaper. In some embodiments, an aluminum foil may be further included atan inner surface of the filter wrapper 120 a.

The filter portion 120 wrapped by the filter wrapper 120 a and thesmoking material portion 110 wrapped by the smoking material wrapper 110a may be wrapped together by the tipping paper 130. That is, the tippingpaper 130 may wrap around at least a portion (for example, a partialdownstream region) of the smoking material wrapper 110 a and an outerperiphery of the filter wrapper 120 a. Meanwhile, the tipping paper 130may include an incombustible material and prevent combustion of thefilter portion 120 resulting from combustion of the smoking materialportion 110.

Hereinafter, the configurations of the present disclosure and theadvantageous effects according thereto will be described in more detailusing examples and comparative examples. However, the examples aremerely for describing the present disclosure in more detail, and thescope of the present disclosure is not limited by the examples.

EXAMPLE 1

A smoking material portion was removed from a cigarette manufactured fortesting of examples, and the smoking material portion was filled with amixture of about 20 wt % of flavored and aged tobacco leaves, about 20wt % of tobacco leaves that were not flavored or aged, about 25 wt % oftoasted tobacco leaves, about 10 wt % of reconstituted tobacco leaves,and about 25 wt % of expanded tobacco midribs.

The flavored and aged tobacco leaves used in the mixture wasmanufactured by flavoring and aging true leaves of domestic brighttobacco leaves in which the total sugar content was about 30 wt %. Also,the flavoring and aging process was performed by adding about 4 kg ofvanilla concentrate, which was diluted in about 4 kg of alcohol, toabout 100 kg of tobacco leaves, adjusting the moisture of the tobaccoleaves so that the moisture content therein was about 20%, and thenaging the tobacco leaves for about 14 days under the condition of aninternal temperature of about 70° C. and an internal relative humidityof about 30%. The aged tobacco leaves were preconditioned at atemperature of about 100° C., primarily moisturized by adding about1,000 g of propylene glycol (PG) and about 1,500 g of glycerin thereto,cut into tobacco strands having a width of about 0.9 mm, dried at atemperature of about 110° C., and then secondarily moisturized by addingabout 300 g of PG and about 30 g of glycerin thereto.

EXAMPLE 2

A smoking article was manufactured in the same way as in Example 1except that a chocolate concentrate was used as the flavoring and waterwas used as the base solution in the flavoring and aging process.

EXAMPLE 3

A smoking article was manufactured in the same way as in Example 2except that a dry prune concentrate was used as the flavoring in theflavoring and aging process.

EXAMPLE 4

A smoking article was manufactured in the same way as in Example 2except that maple syrup was used as the flavoring in the flavoring andaging process.

EXAMPLE 5

A smoking article was manufactured in the same way as in Example 2except that a cocoa concentrate was used as the flavoring in theflavoring and aging process.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 1

A smoking material portion was removed from a cigarette manufactured fortesting of examples, and the smoking material portion was filled with amixture of about 20 wt % of aged tobacco leaves, about 20 wt % oftobacco leaves that were not flavored or aged, about 25 wt % of toastedtobacco leaves, about 10 wt % of reconstituted tobacco leaves, and about25 wt % of expanded tobacco midribs.

The aged tobacco leaves used in the mixture was prepared by aging thetobacco leaves, which were the same as in Example 1, in the same way asin Example 1 in a state in which a flavoring was not added thereto.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 2

A smoking material portion was removed from a cigarette manufactured fortesting of examples, and the smoking material portion was filled with amixture of about 20 wt % of flavored tobacco leaves, about 20 wt % oftobacco leaves that were not flavored or aged, about 25 wt % of toastedtobacco leaves, about 10 wt % of reconstituted tobacco leaves, and about25 wt % of expanded tobacco midribs.

Flavored tobacco leaves were prepared by adding about 4 kg of vanillaconcentrate, which was diluted in about 4 kg of alcohol, to about 100 kgof tobacco leaves which were the same as in Example 1, omitting theaging process, and then performing the preconditioning, moisturizing,cutting, and drying processes identically as in Example 1.

COMPARATIVE EXAMPLE 3

A smoking article was manufactured in the same way as in ComparativeExample 2 except that a chocolate concentrate was used as the flavoringand water was used as the base solution to flavor the tobacco leaves.

Experimental Example 1: Analysis of Flavoring Components According toWhether Flavoring and Aging are Performed

Flavoring components in the flavored and aged tobacco leaves, agedtobacco leaves, and flavored tobacco leaves that were used in theexamples and comparative examples were analyzed using a solid phasemicro extraction-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (SPME-GC/MS)measurement method, and the result of analysis is shown in Table 1. Theresult of flavoring component analysis for evaluating a degree of lossof a flavoring component before and after the respective processes(e.g., preconditioning, moisturizing, cutting, and drying) following theaging process in each of Examples 1 and 2 is shown in Table 2. Thenumerical values of each component in Tables 1 and 2 represent peak arearatios (i.e., relative values) analyzed according to the SPME-GC/MSmeasurement.

TABLE 1 Comparative Comparative Example 2 Example 3 Example 3Comparative Example 1 Example 2 (Flavored (Flavored (Flavored Example 5Example 1 (Flavored (Flavored with with with dry Example 4 (Flavored(Aged with vanilla with vanilla chocolate chocolate prune (Flavored withcocoa without concen- concen- concen- concen- concen- with maple concen-Classification being trate and trate but trate and trate but trate syruptrate and Characteristics Component flavored) aged) not aged) aged) notaged) and aged) and aged) aged) Roasted 3,6-Dimethyl- — 79 8 23 — — — —4H-furo[3,2-c] pyran-4-one 2(3H)- 209 2,358 6,460 292 209 4.7 5.6 5.8Furanone, dihydro-5- propyl- 3-Furaldehyde 45 145 46 151 45 242.4 320.4159.3 5- 18 99 23 104 18 98.2 119.7 88.5 Methylfurfural Furfuryl alcohol16 40 15 32 16 42.8 71.3 29.9 gamma- 71 4,518 6,110 479 71 18.4 28.318.0 Nonalactone 2,3′-Dipyridyl 64 100 60 96 64 65.0 74.2 56.2 SweetPiperonal 72 1,367 5,445 186 72 111.3 130.5 135.2 Piperonyl alcohol 208103 187 109 208 — — — Anisyl acetate 1,025 1,111 2,536 6,753 18,816 78.364.5 50.8 Anise alcohol 1,116 55 55 706 1,116 50.6 44.6 26.4P-Anisaldehyde 58 37 18 275 58 22.2 22.1 19.9 Tobacca Like Ionene 10 5210 48 10 14.2 — 85.3 Safranal 5 7 9 7 5 — — 6.1 4-Oxoisophorone 12 25 1325 12 28.6 38.9 29.4 Solanone 342 538 360 541 342 185.7 560.4 558.6Megastigmatrienone 98 219 90 210 98 112.1 178.8 210.5 neophytadiene1,563 1,991 1,354 2,016 1,563 1,250.0 1,154.8 1,600.8 Floralp-Methylacetophenone 39 103 329 35 39 — — — Geranyl acetone 116 110 121104 116 40.4 99.5 98.2

Referring to Table 1, it can be seen that, in all of Examples 1 to 5,most flavoring components increased and some flavoring componentsdecreased as compared to when tobacco leaves were aged without beingflavored (Comparative Example 1), and a degree of increase or decreaseof each flavoring component was different for each example. Accordingly,it was confirmed that there is a notable difference in the quality offlavoring components of tobacco leaves, depending on whether the tobaccoleaves are flavored, the type of flavoring used during flavoring, and/orwhether the tobacco leaves are aged.

In particular, from the results of Examples 1 and 2 and ComparativeExamples 2 and 3, it can be seen that most flavoring components intobacco leaves, such as ‘3,6-Dimethyl-4H-furo[3,2-c] pyran-4-one,’‘3-Furaldehyde,’ ‘5-Methylfurfural,’ and ‘Furfuryl alcohol,’ furtherincreased due to the aging process following the flavoring process, ascompared to the case of applying the flavoring process alone.

Also, it can be seen that flavoring components beneficial to the tobaccotaste, such as ‘5-Methylfurfural,’ ‘4-Oxoisophorone,’ and ‘Piperonal,’increased in all of the flavored and aged tobacco leaves of each of theexamples, glycolytic products that have a roasted flavor characteristic,such as ‘2(3H)-Furanone dihydro-5-propyl-,’ ‘gamma-Nonalactone,’‘3,6-Dimethyl-4H-furo[3,2-c]pyran-4-one,’ and ‘Furfryl alcohol,’increased especially in the flavored and aged tobacco leaves of Example1, and semi-volatile compounds that have a sweet flavor characteristic,such as ‘p-Anisaldehyde’ and ‘Anisyl acetate’ increased especially inthe flavored and aged tobacco leaves of Example 2.

Meanwhile, although not shown as a separate example or comparativeexample in the table above, flavored and aged tobacco leaves which wereaged for about a week did not have an effect of improving the quality offlavoring components due to aging. Also, flavored and aged tobaccoleaves which were aged for about 4 weeks and flavored and aged tobaccoleaves which used tobacco leaves having a total sugar content of about15 wt % showed degradation of physical properties of tobacco leaves anddegradation of yield. In flavored and aged tobacco leaves which usedtobacco leaves having a total sugar content of about 40 wt %, the amountof nicotine detected was less than a reference value. Thus, suchflavored and aged tobacco leaves were excluded from the examples andcomparative examples.

TABLE 2 Example 1 Example 2 (Flavored with vanilla (Flavored withconcentrate) chocolate concentrate) Classification Before After BeforeAfter Characteristics Component process process process process Roasted3,6-Dimethyl-4H-furo[3,2-c] 86 79 22 23 pyran-4-one 2(3H)-Furanone,dihydro-5-propyl- 3,259 2,358 232 292 3-Furaldehyde 248 145 238 1515-Methylfurfural 141 99 138 104 Furfuryl alcohol 44 40 39 32gamma-Nonalactone 5,319 4,518 319 479 2,3′-Dipyridyl 79 100 92 96 SweetPiperonal 1,602 1,367 114 186 Piperonyl alcohol 132 103 111 109 Anisylacetate 1,538 1,111 7,110 6,753 Anise alcohol 45 55 705 706p-Anisaldehyde 29 37 313 275 Tobacco Ionene 94 52 15 48 like Safranal 97 8 7 4-Oxoisophorone 30 25 28 25 Solanone 630 538 548 541Megastigmatrienone 217 219 236 210 neophytadiene 2,035 1,991 2,265 2,016Floral p-Methylacetophenone 179 103 21 35 Geranyl acetone 116 110 110104

Referring to Table 2, it can be seen that most of the flavoringcomponents which increased after the flavoring and aging processslightly decreased after subsequent processes (preconditioning,moisturizing, cutting, and drying), but the decrease was minimal, andfurther, it can be seen that some glycolytic products and inherentflavoring components of tobacco, such as ‘2(3H)-Furanone,dihydro-5-propyl-,’ ‘gamma-Nonalactone,’ ‘Piperonal,’ ‘Ionene,’‘2,3′-Dipyridyl,’ ‘Anise alcohol,’ ‘p-Anisaldehyde,’‘Megastigmatrienone,’ and ‘p-Methylacetophenone,’ rather increased afterthe subsequent processes.

Experimental Example 2: Sensory Evaluation According to WhetherFlavoring and Aging are Performed

Sensory evaluation was performed with respect to tobacco smoke tasteintensity, flavor intensity, satisfaction with the flavor, irritation,off-taste, refreshingness of aftertaste, and overall tobacco taste ofthe smoking articles of each of the examples and comparative examples.The sensory evaluation was performed by a panel of twenty-sevenevaluators using the smoking articles manufactured according to theexamples and comparative examples, based on a scale of 7 points.

FIG. 3 is a view illustrating a comparison of results of sensoryevaluation of the smoking articles manufactured according to theexamples and comparative examples.

Referring to FIG. 3 , it can be seen that, in most of the examples, thetobacco smoke taste intensity, flavor intensity, and satisfaction withthe flavor were the same or higher, the off-taste was reduced, and theoverall tobacco taste was also enhanced as compared to the comparativeexamples.

In particular, it can be seen that, in Example 1 in which tobacco leaveswere flavored with a vanilla concentrate and Example 2 in which tobaccoleaves were flavored with a chocolate concentrate, the flavor intensity,satisfaction with the flavor, refreshingness of aftertaste, and overalltobacco taste were higher as compared to the comparative examples andother examples, and the off-taste reducing effect and irritationreducing effect were also greater as compared to the other examples.

Further, from out-of-criteria smoking evaluation results of the panel,it was found that smoking articles in which flavored and aged tobaccoleaves were mixed had less artificial taste and flavor and also haddecreased negative attributes felt during smoking, such as a spicy tasteand a coating sensation, as compared to smoking articles in whichnon-aged tobacco leaves or non-flavored tobacco leaves were mixed.

The embodiments of the present disclosure have been described above withreference to the accompanying drawings, but those of ordinary skill inthe art to which the present disclosure pertains should understand thatthe present disclosure may be carried out in other specific formswithout changing the technical spirit or essential features thereof.Therefore, the embodiments described above should be understood as beingillustrative, instead of limiting, in all aspects. The scope of thepresent disclosure should be interpreted by the claims below, and anytechnical spirit within the scope equivalent to the claims should beinterpreted as falling within the scope of the technical spirit definedby the present disclosure.

1. A method of flavoring and aging smoking materials for constituting atleast a portion of a smoking material portion of a smoking article, themethod comprising: adding a flavoring, which is diluted in a basesolution, to a smoking material; and aging flavored smoking materialunder constant temperature and humidity conditions.
 2. The method ofclaim 1, wherein, in the adding of the flavoring, a sum of weight of theflavoring and weight of base solution is in a range of 1% to 20% oftotal weight of the smoking material.
 3. The method of claim 2, whereinthe weight of the flavoring and the weight of the base solution are eachin a range of 1% to 10% of the total weight of the smoking material. 4.The method of claim 1, further comprising, between the adding of theflavoring and the aging, adjusting moisture of the flavored smokingmaterial so that the moisture of the flavored smoking material is in arange of 15 wt % to 35 wt %.
 5. The method of claim 1, wherein the agingis performed for a period in a range of 7 days to 25 days under acondition of an internal temperature in a range of 60° C. to 80° C. andan internal relative humidity in a range of 20% to 40%.
 6. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the smoking material is tobacco leaves in which a totalsugar content is in a range of 20 wt % to 40 wt %.
 7. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the flavoring includes at least one of a vanillaconcentrate, a chocolate concentrate, maple syrup, a dried pruneconcentrate, a cocoa concentrate, a pine flavoring liquid, a cinnamonflavoring liquid, and a red wine flavoring liquid.
 8. The method ofclaim 7, wherein the flavoring is the vanilla concentrate, and the basesolution may be alcohol.
 9. The method of claim 7, wherein the flavoringis the chocolate concentrate, and the base solution is water.
 10. Themethod of claim 1, further comprising: preconditioning the flavored andaged smoking material; primarily moisturizing the preconditioned smokingmaterial by adding at least one of propylene glycol and glycerinthereto; cutting the primarily-moisturized smoking material; drying thecut smoking material; and secondarily moisturizing the dried smokingmaterial by adding at least one of the propylene glycol and the glycerinthereto.
 11. The method of claim 10, wherein: the preconditioning isperformed at a temperature in a range of 90° C. to 110° C.; the dryingis performed at a temperature in a range of 100° C. to 120° C.; and theweight of the propylene glycol added in the primary moisturizing issmaller than the weight of the glycerin added in the primarymoisturizing, and the weight of the propylene glycol added in thesecondary moisturizing is larger than the weight of the glycerin addedin the secondary moisturizing.
 12. Flavored and aged tobacco leaves forconstituting at least a portion of a smoking material portion of asmoking article, the flavored and aged tobacco leaves are made using themethod of claim
 1. 13. A smoking article comprising: a smoking materialportion of which at least a portion is filled with the flavored and agedtobacco leaves of claim 12; and a filter portion disposed downstream ofthe smoking material portion.
 14. The smoking article of claim 13,wherein the smoking material portion is filled with a mixture of 15 wt %to 35 wt % of the flavored and aged tobacco leaves, 5 wt % to 25 wt % oftobacco leaves that are not flavored or aged, 15 wt % to 35 wt % oftoasted tobacco leaves, 1 wt % to 20 wt % of reconstituted tobaccoleaves, and 15 wt % to 35 wt % of expanded tobacco midribs.